Udall-Bennet provision included in transportation funding bill

Colorado's two U.S. senators were able to gain at least initial Senate approval this afternoon for their proposal to find ways to make it less burdensome for communities to create train-horn "quiet zones."

Mike Saccone, a spokesman for Sen. Mark Udall, said the Senate approved adding the provision from Udall and Sen. Michael Bennet to a transportation appropriations bill.

The Senate was expected to cast a final vote next week on the overall bill containing the Udall-Bennet amendment, Saccone said.

Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, and Bennet, D-Denver, have amended the current version of the bill to include a requirement that the Federal Railroad Administration work with Colorado communities to examine the agency's existing rules requiring trains to blow their horns when approaching or passing through crossings in cities and towns.

The FTA would also be required, under the Udall-Bennet amendment, to consider revisions to those rules and report its findings back to Congress within 180 days -- with a goal of making it easier for communities to establish quiet zones while protecting public safety.

“The Federal Railroad Administration's train noise rules are well intentioned but are not working for Colorado communities that are trying to encourage economic development and protect residents' quality of life,” Udall said in a statement.

“I am confident, with everyone working together, we can protect public safety while also confronting frustrating and detrimental train-horn noise,” Udall said.

Said Bennet: “the safety of our railroad crossings is important to communities throughout Colorado. These towns want to create a peaceful environment for businesses to thrive, but the current use of train horns, and the frequently prohibitive cost of establishing quiet zones, is stifling economic development.”

Bennet said the amendment he and Udall attached to the transportation appropriations bill “will help us review the current safety rules to better understand how communities can establish quiet zones in a way that maintains a high level of safety around these crossings.”

Udall and Bennet also have proposed an amendment to the transportation appropriations bill that would reallocate a portion of $42 million in unused federal transportation funds, making that money available for the U.S. Department of Transportation to award grants to help cities offset the costs of upgrades necessary to create quiet zones.

The fate of that amendment was uncertain as of late Thursday afternoon.

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